The Ministry of Health has announced one new COVID-19 case in the Southern region today (Tuesday April 14), among an increase of ten cases over Easter weekend.

This brings the total for the Southern region (which includes Otago and Southland) to 210. The next highest number of cases (200) is in the Waitemata district.

One hundred and nine people in the Southern district are now classified as recovered.

Six of the Southern’s new cases are within the Queenstown Lakes district. There are now 84 confirmed cases in this district.

The cluster of cases associated with the World Hereford Conference, held in Queenstown in March, remains at 33, with no new cases added in the past 24 hours.

The Southern District Health Board (SDHB) has clarified who should get tested for COVID-19.

The COVID-19 case definition criteria is for any acute respiratory infection with at least one of the following symptoms: cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, coryza (head cold eg. runny nose, sneezing, post-nasal drip) and anosmia (loss of sense of smell) with or without fever.

Some people may not meet the suspect case definition but may present with symptoms such as: fever, diarrhoea, headache, myalgia, nausea/vomiting, or confusion/irritability. If there is not another likely diagnosis, and they have a link to a recent traveller, a confirmed, or probable case, consider testing.

The SDHB said the COVID-19 case definition and testing protocols are constantly evolving, so these criteria may change. Updates will be documented at the direction of public health officials. 

IMAGE: Supplied